ARSENAL’S hopes of winning their first league title in nearly 20 years could depend on what happens in the next seven days.

An unusual Friday evening kick-off at the Emirates Stadium will see the Gunners play relegation-threatened Southampton tonight. It is now a must-win match after two draws against Liverpool and West Ham gave rivals Manchester City the chance to narrow Mikel Arteta’s lead at the top of the table.

Arsenal then travel to City next Wednesday evening in one of their biggest league fixtures for years. Defeat against the big-spending defending champions would surely mean the end of a courageous bid to bring home the trophy.

Arteta said yesterday (Thursday): “What I can say is that our players have full belief in what we do and what we know is that what is at stake is incredibly beautiful and we want to fight for it.”

He added: “The best way to do it every single day is to continue what we do, and tomorrow play really well, play with our crowd every single ball and create an incredible atmosphere and win the game.”

Follow our Arsenal Twitter feed @GunnersLocal for updates.